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The Seven Wonders of the Medieval World - Part II of II
By Ghassan Teffaha, Staff Writer

 

Beirut, Lebanon - Part II - Similar to what the Greeks did in the second century B.C., medieval scholars, just like the classical scholars before them, were captivated by the wondrous things people had made. However, much through out of the thousand-year period known as the Dark Ages, most Europeans lived in small, isolated communities. Travel was complicated and often hazardous; and knowledge was restricted to, and often controlled by men of the church. Whatever remained of the great civilizations of Greece and Rome was long gone, but even so, some of their glory was still remembered. The old list of the Wonders of the Ancient World was beginning to fade as most of the wonders no longer existed anymore. At some point during the Middle Ages, another list came into existence; The Seven Wonders of the Medieval World. Worth noting is that some of the wonders are actually from the times of the Ancient World therefore some view this list as an update of the previous list. Here they are in random order:

The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, located in the town of Nanjing by the banks of the Yangtze River in north eastern China is named by the people of China Bao’ensi, which means the "Temple of Gratitude" in Chinese. It was called the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing by European travelers during the 18th century, and those travelers labeled it one of the Wonders of the Medieval World the following century. Mystery surrounds its time of construction, with many believing it to be around the 15th or 16th century. It definitely served as a Buddhist temple for hundreds of years before it became a tourist attraction. The tower has an octagonal base, about 97 feet in diameter, with nine floors in a pyramid shape to a height of about 260 feet. The brilliant white porcelain bricks that faced the tower were what made it so unforgettable. By day, the bricks glittered in the sun, and at night they were illuminated by perhaps as many as 140 lamps, hanging around the exterior of the pagoda. Worked into the porcelain panels were colorful stoneware tiles with green, yellow, white and brown glazes forming images of animals, landscapes, flowers, and bamboo.

The Hagia Sophia, located in Istanbul, Turkey. For centuries, it stood at the heart of two of the world's great religions. To Christians, it was Hagia Sophia, Church of the Holy Wisdom, mother church of the Orthodox faith and of the pride of the once mighty Byzantine Empire. On the other hand, to Muslims, it became, after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Ayasofya Camii, Mosque of Holy Wisdom and jewel of Istanbul. Built in the year A.D. 356 by the Byzantine emperor Constantine, it stood for 172 years till it was burned down by rioting crowds during the reign of Emperor Justinian the builder. Reconstruction started almost immediately, and it was loosely modeled on the Roman Pantheon. It was laid out as a rectangle, at whose center was a square. Soaring 180 feet above the square was a dome supported by four massive pedantries on equally massive piers. At the East and West ends of the dome square were two domes serving as the apse and entrance bay. The engineering feat was even more incredible considering that only brick, mortar, and stone were used. Although the earlier Romans knew how to make concrete, these Eastern builders did not. In A.D. 558, much of it collapsed due to the many earthquakes in the region. Because the initial architects, Anthemius and Isodorus, were no longer living, the latter's nephew, Isidorus the Younger, was given the task of rebuilding. This time it lasted 400 more years before collapsing again, and being again rebuilt. In 1204, knights of the Fourth Crusade marched on the Byzantine Empire's capital city, looting and pillaging along the way so remorselessly that a chronicler called it the most awesome plunder" since the creation of the world." In 1453, Sultan Mohammed II massed the Ottoman army in front of the city. After a 53-day siege, the Byzantine Empire's great capital capitulated, and the conqueror marched into town and directly to Hagia Sophia. Koranic inscriptions were placed in the four corners beneath the dome; four minarets were erected at the corners of the exterior perimeter; a gilded bronze crescent replaced the large metal cross crowning the basilica. While the changes offended Christians, the Mosque of Holy Wisdom enjoyed a place of high regard among devotees of Islam. In the 20th century, Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk viewed the structure as a unifying symbol for East and West. He closed the mosque in 1932, uncovered its medieval mosaics, and reopened Hagia Sophia as a museum in 1934. Nearly 15 centuries after Justinian, it stands as a monument to both human and divine wisdom.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, located in the town of Pisa in the north western coast of Italy. The Tower was supposed to be the bell tower of the neighboring church which was supposed to be the main attraction of Pisa. The construction of the Tower of Pisa was performed in three stages over a period of about 200 years. Construction of the first floor of the white marble began on 1173. The tower first acquired a lean after the third floor was built in 1178, due to a mere three-meter foundation set in weak unstable subsoil. This means that the design was flawed from the beginning. Construction was subsequently halted for almost a century because the Pisaians were almost continually engaged in battles with other city states of Italy. This allowed time for the underlying soil to settle, otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled. In 1272, construction resumed and another four floors were built at an angle to compensate for the tilt. Construction was halted again in 1284, when the Pisans were defeated by the Genoese in the Battle of Meloria. The bell-chamber was not finally added until 1372. There are seven bells, one for each note of the musical major scale. The largest one was installed in 1655. During the 17th and 18th century, several attempts were made to tilt the tower in the other direction so that it would be standing up straight again. These efforts made matters only worse as the tower was starting to tilt at a faster rate. Soon, other attempts started to be made in order to stop the tower from tilting more so that it does not eventually collapse. The most recent attempt was completed in 2001 after the tower was closed to the public for 11 years. The latest endeavor successfully stopped the tower from tilting even more. However, several archeologist and scientists believe that the tower will eventually collapse.